Giveaways

March 23, 2017

What's the Big Deal About First Ladies
By Ruby Shamir, Illustrated by Matt Faulkner
Published by Philomel Books
ISBN-10:
32 pages, Hardcover
Age Range: 4-8 years old
$12.32 on Amazon

Putting all current political and presidential issues aside, it's nice to look back in history at all of the famous first ladies that have also worked to help make things better for our country. The new book, What's the Big Deal About First Ladies by Ruby Shamir gives kids a fun look back in time at at what different first ladies have done during their husband's presidency.

Today, I'm super excited to be a part of the What's the Big Deal About First Ladies blog tour. Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for your chance to win this awesome book!

Let me present some fun facts on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis or Jackie as she is most widely known as. Jackie was the First Lady from 1961 until 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

One of Jackie's major contributions as First Lady was her work to help restore the White House to it's original elegance during John F. Kennedy's first year as President. After all of the $2 million dollar remodeling was complete, Jackie hosted the first television special "A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy" that was broadcasted on all three major networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC.

Jackie traveled with her husband to many different countries and became famous for not only her elegant sense of style but also her mastery of languages. Jackie could speak French, Spanish fluently and has proficiency in Italian and Polish.

When her husband was assassinated, Jackie took charge and organized John F. Kennedy's funeral.

Here's your chance to win the new book, What's the Big Deal About First Ladies by Ruby Shamir. In addition to being hostesses, ambassadors, activists, educators, historians and role-models, each first lady put her own stamp on the White House and her husband's presidency. Filled with fun, kid-friendly facts that bring each First Lady to life on the page, this picture book written by a member of a former first lady's staff, shows us just how much our nation's first ladies have accomplished from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama.

March 20, 2017

Today is not only the first day of Spring, it's also The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day! I'm sure I don't need to introduce Eric Carle's beloved book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar to you guys. It is one of my favorite children's book as a child. Since my husband is French, we got the French version for our daughter Chloe when she was born in 2008. It was really fun to be able to read my favorite book in a different language. The book was first published back in 1969 and has been translated into 40 different languages.

This book has so many special memories for our family! It's no wonder my daughter loves caterpillars and butterflies so much.

Do you love this book? Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win one (1) of five (5) copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (ARV: $21.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on March 20, 2017 and 12:00 AM on March 27, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about March 29, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

January 18, 2017

This Book is Magic
By Ashley Evanson
Published by Grosset & Dunlap
ISBN-10: 0399543929
Age Range: 3-7 years old
32 pages, Hardcover
$11.24 on Amazon

Ashley Evanson is a San Francisco based author and illustrator of the Hello World series of books. She has a new book just out this week called, This Book is Magic. What kid doesn't like magic?! Kids will not only instantly become attracted to Evanson's adorable and whimsical illustrations, the interactive fun really comes into play when they realize "magic" will take them through this book. With a wave of their their finger they can make a bunny pop out from a Hat (please, how cute is this bunny's monocle?) or make a ship disappear. I could hear Chloe laugh out loud when she was reading this book, thanks to all the funny magical words you have to say from "Gone-zo!" to "Presto Change-o"!

The interactivity of this book is so fun and engaging. Toddlers will revel in their own magician skills and new readers will find this book fun to read on their own as the text is just the right size and amount for them to accomplish reading.

Enter for a chance to win one of five (5) finished copies of This Book is Magic by Ashley Evanson (ARV: $19.99).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on January 15, 2017 and 11:59 PM on January 22, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about November 21, 2016. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

June 26, 2016

A year ago, I started on my Erin Condren Life Planner journey. I first found out about this planner from my blog friend Katie at Good Life Eats. Katie was a food writer of mine when I was an editor at Craftzine.com. I remember her tweeting a few years ago that she just purchased an EC Life Planner to organize her life and I was really intrigued. Last year, I realized I needed to get myself into organizing shape. As much of an organized person I am, I always felt like at the end of the year, I was only scratching the surface of what needed to be done - longer projects or ideas never got written down so I basically lived my life scrambling to finish deadlines, picking up my daughter from school and doing the never-ending laundry and dishes before I could even think about my own creative projects.

This has all changed with my EC Life Planner. I just ordered mine at the beginning of June with the new launch and I treated myself to one with a gold coil! I love it so much!

Here's my first layout for this week inside the planner using stickers from Hello Ashley Ann. I can get fully addicted to Easy stickers so this is the first time trying out a full theme. I do know that I don't like covering up my entire planner with stickers as I like to use the bottom lined area of my planner for food planning or miscellaneous notes. I use the first top rectangle row for appointments, meetings and errands I need to leave the house for. This way, I know what will take me out of the home and I will know how much actual work time I have to work on articles or blog posts on my computer. I don't record down school pick up or drop off, or even after school activities. I have those recurring on my Google calendar. I do note when we have fun outings planned together. Currently she's in camp, so I know that this week, I'm able to do a lot more in terms of work and meeting people in the day. The middle rectangle is for my to do lists for the day - people I need to call, small tasks, etc. The bottoms set of rectangles I use for my blogs and freelance articles I may be working on. This last section gets tricky as sometimes I'm not able to work on something and may need to carry things over to the next day. I may try using the stickers included in the EC planner so I can easily peel them off and move blog posts around but honestly, I like just writing directly on paper so the bottom area can get messy with arrows or cross outs, and for now maybe that is ok.

The planner is really flexible for you to figure out how it can work in your life. That's what I love about it! There's plenty of room for me to write. For me, I use this to organize my blog posts, freelance articles, creative projects I want to pursue, as well as family vacations, days off from school, camps, etc. The possibilities are endless. I know there are a lot of busy moms out there thinking, ok this planner is just a little bit expensive. Does it really work? Yes, yes and yes.

July 6th marks my 11th anniversary with blogging with Coquette. I want to give back to you, my readers with an exciting giveaway!

Erin Condren $100 Gift Card Giveaway

Visit my Instagram page to win a $100 gift card to erincondren.com! If you're a planning newbie, you can pick out the planner of your dreams or if you're an existing planner addict, get some of the cool new 2016 accessories! All you have to do is: 1) follow me @coquettenatalie on Instagram, 2) like the photo and 3) leave a comment.

Giveaway Details

The giveaway starts today, June 26th and will end on July 7, 2016 at midnight PST. This giveaway is open to everyone! (If you live outside of the U.S., please check how much it is to ship to your country and customs fees.) Note: I am paying for this gift card with my own money.

Be sure to sign up for the Erin Condren site through this link --> get $10 off your first order! The newsletter sign up link is the first link at the top bar of the Erin Condren site. When you sign up, there are discounts for each milestone order up to order #20 so you won't want to miss your chance to continue receiving discounts!

February 25, 2016

I am Albert Einstein (Ordinary People Change the World)
By Brad Meltzer, Illustrated by Christoper Eliopoulos
Published by: Dial Books
ISBN-10: 0803740840
Age Range: 5-8 years old
$9.82 on Amazon

The Ordinary People Change the World series is just an amazing way to introduce and inspire kids that each and every famous person out there, started just like them -- as a child full of wonder and curiosity. I Am Albert Einstein by Brad Meltzer brings to life the world of the famous physicist and Nobel Prize Winner, Albert Einstein. We all know that Einstein was one of the greatest minds of the scientific world and it's a daunting subject to bring to kids. Meltzer does an amazing job at bringing Einstein to a relatable and comedic level to kids, helping them understand Einstein as both a boy and man, while also introducing kids to his most famous theories. The comic book style and illustrations of Christopher Eliopoulos really make the story pop and it's easy to read for my 7 year old. My daughter is very curious as are most kids her age. This book starts the seed that being curious can help you in doing your own experiments and the process of scientific inquiry.

Here's a fun science project you can make with your kids, inspired by little Albert Einstein.

How To Make Your Own Compass

When Einstein was five, his father gave him a compass when he was sick. He was always intrigued at how the needle always pointed north. This started his first experience in scientific inquiry and his passion for physics.

This is a DIY great project to teach kids about magnetic forces and is a great introduction into physics.

1. First, you will need to magnetize the needle so it will be able to point north. Rub the tip/top portion of the needle against the magnet for about 10-20 times. You must rub it in the same direction, not back and forth. If your magnet is stronger, you can rub it for less time.

2. If you are using cork, make sure an adult cuts it to size. It must be thick enough for the needle to run through it.

3. Put the needle in the cork or glue it onto the water bottle cap. Make sure the same amount of length of the needle is pointing out of the cork or the water bottle cap.

4. Fill the bowl with water.

5. Place your compass needle inside the bowl. The needle should start to move and point North.

6. You can double check the direction by using a real compass or use a map or free compass app on a mobile phone or tablet.

The magnetized needle is now aligning itself with the Earth's natural magnetic field! For me, the compass was pointing towards my window. I had a compass app on my phone, which also pointed toward the window. You can mark an "N" on the cork to designate the north direction.

There's an amazing giveaway happening now with Penguin Kids. Enter the Rafflecopter below to win all 8 books from the Ordinary People Change the World series. Good luck!

August 30, 2013

Congrats to Melissa from Sadieville, KY for winning the Wee Alphas print from Wee Society in my recent giveaway! Thanks to everyone who entered.

Right now, there's still time to enter the Back to School giveaway I have going on with TheFind where you can win a $50 Visa or Am Ex gift card that can be used anywhere! Deadline for entries is Wednesday, September 4th.

August 27, 2013

Back to School for us is only a couple days away. I just remembered had to get Chloe a backpack for Kindergarten. Doing a quick search on TheFind's new iPad app took mere seconds and gave me tons of results and store/price options for the Skip Hop Zoo style backpack I wanted. (I ended up choosing the ladybug. Cute, no?)

TheFind has a powerful shopping search that helps you look through every store and every product to quickly find you the best prices for back to school. Shopping with TheFind app is so much easier than comparison shopping from your computer. No more multiple browser windows or tabs open! I also love that you can fire up the app and literally start shopping. Just sign in with your Facebook login (or guest if you so choose) and you are pretty much ready to go with your shopping search!

Giveaway
To celebrate Back to School, TheFind and Coquette Maman have a fantastic giveaway for you! Shopping is hard and even if your little one has already started school, there's always something you need to buy – shoes (ah, their growing feet!), clothes or lunchtime goods. Here's your chance to win a $50 gift card for your online Back to School shopping! (Gift card will be a Visa or Am Ex card you can use anywhere.)

Rules:
Simply leave a comment to this post to enter. You must enter your email address in the email field. (Your address will not be viewable when published.) By adding your email address you will be subscribed to TheFind's shopping newsletter and from time to time receive emails on what's new TheFind. The contest will culminate in a grand prize drawing for a $100 gift card, to be chosen at random from all of the entries from participating bloggers. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, September 4th at 5pm PST. The grand prize winner of $100 will be chosen on Wednesday, September 11th and will be announced on September 12th.

August 21, 2013

I am super excited to partner up with my friends at Wee Society to present to you this fun Back to School giveaway. Win this unframed 18" X 24" Wee Alphas alphabet print (retail value $40) featuring letters hidden in their quirky characters such as Alexander the Angelfish, Biki the Buffalo and more. Your print comes stamped with a shiny metallic gold foil Wee Society seal. It's a great way to brighten up your kid's room!

Giveaway Entry Rules
This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Simply leave a comment to this post to enter. For an extra entry point follow both Wee Society and Coquette on Facebook. (Let us know when you leave your comment that you are also following us on Facebook.) It's that easy! All entries must be received by Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 5pm PST. Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Wee Society is now updating their Facebook page with weekly printable activity pages. This week features a coloring page of their quirky character alphabet.